Nicknamed the Beast of the East, Killington is not only the biggest in Vermont but also eastern North America. A wide variety of terrain spreads across seven peaks and extensive snowmaking makes it a great option for skiers and snowboarders. Being big isn't its only drawcard, the resort also has the longest ski season in Vermont, often from October to May!
Rutland Southern Vermont Regional Airport
Killington Resort (30 minutes)
Beginners will have plenty to choose from with green trails across the whole resort. For never-evers, the Snowshed and Ramshead are beginner areas are perfect for learning on. Our favorite for beginners though is Great Eastern. It has the most vertical here (2,552 ft) winding from the top of Skye Peak all the way down to the Skyeship base!
With blue trails running everywhere, intermediates are quite spoilt for choice at Killington. Snowdon Mountain has quite a few good intermediate runs while Skyelark to High Road and onto Bittersweet is our top run! Our ultimate ski area for intermediates though is at Pico Mountain. There are less crowds, longer trails and the terrain is more suitable for intermediates.
Advanced and Experts won't have any problems finding fun and challenging runs here! Head up to Killington Peak and the top of K-1 Express for some of the best expert terrain including steep bowl which has trees. Our favorite trails though include The Jug, Jug Handle and Breakway. These black diamonds see less traffic as it's in a relatively secluded section of the mountain, plus the snow here is better!
As the saying in the East goes "The goods are in the woods". Freshies are usually found in glades such as Big Dipper and Julio where the wind blows the powder into the trees. Glades are usually rated for advanced and experts so they don't get tracked out as quickly, plus the snow usually stays fresh even days after a storm.
Unless it's very early or very late it's best to avoid the long lift queues at the K-1 Express and the Ramshead Express Quad on busy weekends. Instead of the K-1 Express, take the Snowdon Triple, ski down Killink and then hop aboard the North Ridge Triple, It'll get you close to the slopes off K-1 Express.
The Beast of the East is well known for its fantastic skiing but other than that, non-skiers might find themselves quite bored here. Besides the few winter activities here (snowshoeing, tubing, snowmobiling etc), there isn't much for non-skiers to do at Killington.
The beginner terrain at the connected Snowshed and Ramshead base areas are the best spots for families. Ramshead is also the base for ski lessons and child care. There are also fun winter activities for the whole family to enjoy such as tubing and riding the Beast Mountain Coaster.
